The present invention relates generally to electronic games of skill, and more particularly, to a word puzzle game where a player attempts to solve a hidden phrase, quote, name or other word group. In the preferred embodiment, the word puzzle game is rendered on a game computer, but may be generated on any display within the scope of the invention.
The inventive game incorporates elements of the popular television game Wheel of Fortune, and the board game Scrabble, but differs from the prior art in several respects. In accordance with the present invention, an electronically generated puzzle grid, in a typical representative embodiment consisting of boxes arranged in a number of rows and columns, is displayed on a display screen. The player selects letters, and any ones that match those found in a solution phrase are displayed in the puzzle grid boxes. However, unlike the Wheel of Fortune game, blank spaces between words and punctuation marks, if any, are assigned an empty grid box exactly as if they were letters. As a result, the structure of the puzzle, i.e. number of different words and length of each word, remains a secret until the blank spaces are discovered. In connection with this aspect of the inventive game, the blank spaces and punctuation marks are only revealed if the player selects a letter that is adjacent to a blank space or punctuation mark.
The present invention is similar to Scrabble only with regard to how point scores are determined. In both games, a player is awarded a higher score for selecting letters that are not as commonly used in normal diction. In the inventive game however, the points are subtracted from a baseline starting total. Selection of more common letters and vowels causes more points to be subtracted, while selection of less common letters (e.g., X's, Q's, Z's and the like) causes fewer points to be subtracted. In addition, in playing the game in accordance with the present invention, the player attempts to ascertain a preselected, hidden phrase, as opposed to putting together words from a set of letters, and thus the games are fundamentally different. Points may also be added to a player's score based upon the player's response(s) to some specific or periodic machine initiated challenge(s). Benefits can also be conferred as a result of the player's score dropping below some established threshold.
In the prior art, there are a number of word puzzle games, but none teach or suggest the present invention. A primary object of the present invention provides for concealing the exact structure of a hidden phrase, including the structure/number of words in the phrase, until a player selects the letters which are adjacent to blank spaces or punctuation marks. For instance, the U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,435 to Tanner discloses a word game between two or more players involving clue cards, each having a set of scrambled words imprinted thereon, and where an unsolved main word is represented by blank spaces. From the start of this game, the players always know the exact number of letters that make up the word to be discovered as they take turns attempting to unscramble the scrambled words to find clues that help solve the main word.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,932 to Finkel covering an apparatus for an electronic word game, teaches a "hangman-type" game that is played between two players wherein one player selects a word by actuation of letter keys. Although the selected word is blanked out so as to preclude observation by the solving player, the other player can observe the number of letters in the selected word.